A driver assistance system is known from DE 10 2004 062 496 A1. This conventional system is set up in order, when identifying a potentially hazardous traffic situation initially merely by the warning intervention, e.g., by generating a visual or haptic signal, to draw the driver's attention to the identified hazard, where it is up to the driver himself whether he reacts to the warning intervention or not. If the hazard situation is exacerbated and the warning signals remain unheeded, the known system can execute an autonomous braking intervention, but the deceleration thereof is weaker than that required to avoid a collision. The system is therefore not capable of keeping the hazard situation under control, which results, for example, from falling asleep for a second or a sudden loss of consciousness of the driver.
It would certainly be feasible to execute the autonomous braking intervention with a high deceleration in order to at least increase the probability that a collision can be avoided without an active contribution by the driver. However, this possibility is declined in DE 10 2004 062 496 A1 itself since it enables a misuse of the collision avoidance system as a “distance assistant”. It is also unsatisfactory insofar as an intensive braking intervention which is sufficiently strong to impair the driver's control over the vehicle for its part can lead to an increased risk of accident.
It is therefore at least one object to provide a driver assistance system that is capable of autonomously preventing accidents through a strong steering intervention in which at the same time, however, the danger which can arise from a strong autonomous steering intervention is minimized In addition, other objects, desirable features and characteristics will become apparent from the subsequent summary and detailed description, and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background.